Buoyant utility suit



J u ly 3, 1945.

H. K. SHAW BUOYANT UTiLITY SUIT Filed April 6, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 3, 1945. H K. SHA 2,379,498

BUOYANT UTILITY SUIT Filed April 6, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 3, 1945 ITED. STATES PATENT Lore e Buoyant! UTILITY sUrr. f I Hubert K. Shaw, Boston,=Mass. iipm t ipme, 1943, Serial No. 482,038

4 Claims. (Cl. 2 -s2) In the form of a buoyant utility suit (or "exposure-suit) this invention relates to improvementsin safety-apparel of the general character commonly-called lifesavingsuits. My invention is designed for use as a "continuous-wear suit,"

principally by aviators who would wear it as a fiyingasuit, and by seamen, who have expressed the need ,for a combined weatherproof and buoyant coverall for wear on deck, andfor possible emergency use. p r

Experiences in many-sea disasters have proved that there may not be sufilcient time for putting on lifesaving suits before abandoning ship, especially intime of war,-when a ship may go "up before it goes-down. It has been claimed .that the usual types of lifesaving suits sometimes hamper the'action ofthe crew members, particularly to combat personnel, due to the weight and bulk of the leaded suits. Operators of combat vessels and aircraft sized, with such reasons as these, the fact that the previous varieties both heavy and bulky, are not sufliciently practicalfor standard use.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose an improved type of protective buoyant suit which will combine the features necessary for practical use as a sleeping suit, work suit. combat suit and. floating swimsuit;

It is a further object of my invention to provide a suit of the general character described which has detached gloves without requiring excessive tightening of the cuffs of the sleeves around the wrists of the wearer to prevent the entrance of water.

: Itis a further object of my invention to provide in a suit of the character described an elastic belt at the waistline which serves to separate the entrapped bers at the top andb'ottom portions of the suit thereby maintaining a higher degree of buoyancy in the water.

A particularimprovement in the design of my suit resides in the provision of a double slide fastener =closurein the frontiof the garment,one

of the slides opening from the topwhile, the other slide opens from the bottom. This 'arra-ngment permits opening the lower front of the garment while maintaining :the closure of the upper part.

Fig.- 1 is a front'elevation of the suit showing the garment closed in the front and around. the

neck. but with one of the oversleeves removed:

Fig. .2.is an enlarged view showing one of the oversleeves Fig; 3 isa fragmentary frontelevation on en larged scale showing the waist band;

Fig. 4' is a sectional view taken on the plane 44 in Fig.3;

'Fig. 5 is arhoriz'ontal =s'ection taken through have consistently empha- 1..

of protective suits, being air within the suit into cham- 40 the front of the jacket on the plane-indicated 5 5 in Fig.1: i

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary portion and sealing flap; Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken through one of the attached foot portions; p Fig. 8 is an elevation partially shown in vertical section of a modified form ,of trouser leg in which the foot is shown detached from thetrouser leg for clearness in illustration; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view partially in broken section showing a modified form of detachable glove; .7

As shown in Fig, 1, the suit consists of a jacket in, trousers l2, sleeves ll, hood l6, and boots or view showing the collarfoot portions l8. ,The parts of. the suit maybe separately cut but arejoined together by stitched and cemented'seamsto make an integral, onepiece garment. e The material'used is preferably cotton drill or sheeting coated with any suitable waterproofing material such as a synthetic, -resin or -rubber coatingyfor example, neoprene. The seams are made. water-tight-by cementing, and strapping. Certain portions of the-garment such as the seat of the trousers may be reinforced to withstand wear.

- I prefer to make the garment as light in weight as possible, consistent with they ability to withstand wear in ordinary usage." The garment maybe provided with either a belt or an elastic-waist band section 20. The suit is designed to closely fit around the waist oi. the wearer and to trap air in the trouser portions of the-garment. The belt or waist band also serves to' hold the trou-- sers in position, while the. jacket portion is sufficiently roomy to blouse over the waistband as shown in Fig. 1.: In Fig. 3 the jacket has'been pulled up to expose the waist band. The construction. of the waist band may be as shown in Fig. 4, in which the opposed margins of the jacket I0 and trousers l2 are joined by an elastic tape 22 applied. to the inside face of the garment. A strip of coated fabricjmay be applied over the outerface ofthe joint, the tape 22 and strip 24 being suitably stitched and cemented in place to make a watertight connection. Buttons or straps 26 may be aflixed-to theinside face of the elastic tape 22. These buttons or snaps 26 may conveniently be attached'tosuspenders if desired to aid in holding the trousers in-positicn.

The front of the garment is provided with an entrance opening 28 extending from the collar 30 to a point lust above the trouser crotch 32. This entrance opening is provided 'with'the usual slide fastener closure 34' which may be of the' fabric covered type which when closed conceals the metal oi the slide fastener; The slide 3Gof'the fastener is pulled downward toopen the garment and pulled upward'to a point'adiacentthe collar f 30 toelose' the entrance opening 28. The usual either of which can be stop 38 may be provided at the bottom of the opening 28. The fabric covering of the slide fastener may be coated with a suitable waterproofing and flame proofing compound. As a modification, 3. two-opening slid -ciosure may be substituted for the combination of separate slide-closures on the front of the suit; i. e., substituting the type of slide-closure having slides which open from opposite ends (top and bottom) toward the center, at which point or at any point above and below, both slide handles will meet when pulled from opposite directions. To further assist in sealing the slide fastener closure, expanded cellular rubber strips 48 may be attached to the inside face of each margin of .the jacket l8 over the slide fastener elements. The strips 88 are designed to be pressed together when the slide fastener is closed. Although to make a perfect watertight seal in this manner, the sealing will be substantially effective if the wearer of the suit is in o. supine position in the water. As hereinafter pointed out, there are certain advantages in the supine position as contrasted with the semi-vertical position,

maintained easily and interchangeably.

In order, however, to further ensure against the entrance of water into the garment and. to aid in permitting opening the front of the suit for ventilation or sanitary purposes, the suit is constructed as shown in Fig. with a V-shaped gusset 42 attached along its right hand margin as at .M to the inside face of the jacket 18. The left hand margin 46 of the gusset piece it may be detachably fastened to the left hand side of the jacket II by a slide fastener closure 48 of a type similar to that of the slide fastener 28 except that the fastener 48 is of the separable type. The slide 50 is designed to open by pulling upward and to close by pulling downward. The closed position of the slide 58 is just inside the bottom of the outer entrance opening 28.

As shown in Fig. 5, I may provide an attached buoyant filler piece 52 which is cut in a V-shape and placed in the pocket formed between the gusset 42 and the outer portion of the jacket ID. This filler piece is preferably made of light weight expanded cellular material, which will add to the buoyancy of the suit and at. the same time will tend to restrain the seepage of water into the suit through the slide fastener closures.

In my suit, the integral sleeves it may be provided with separate hand coverings. If so the ends of the sleeves are preferably provided with buoyant elastic wrist portions 54 adapted to snugly but not too tightly engage the wrists of the wearer. The buttons 58 may be provided to permit opening of the wristlet when the suit is being put on or when sleeping in the suit while on ship. A strap 58 is attached to the lower end of the sleeve and is adapted to extend over the thumb of the hand to hold the sleeve down. In case it becomes necessary to abandon ship, oversleeves 88 such as illustrated in Fig. 2 may be slipped on. The oversleeves may conveniently be carried in pockets formed on the back of the suit over the hips. The oversleeves have integral hand coverings 62 which may be in the shape of mittens or provided with fingers to fit like a glove. Elastic wrist portions 8 may be provided adapted to engage the wristlet ti on the inner sleeve ll to prevent the entrance of water. The oversleeve is intended to extend the full length of the arm and is arranged to be fastened at or near the shoulder 68 of the suit. Snap fasteners may it may be difficult Suitable means may be provided for tightening the upper part of the sleeve around the arm, such as the pull strap 18, which may be tightened to gather the material as shown in Fig. 1. For warmth, a woolen, cotton or leather glove may be worn underneath the oversleeve. The neck band or collar 38 may be provided with a strap 12 to close the collar of the suit around the neck of the wearer immediately above the top of the slide fastener 28. Also, I prefer to use a buoyant flap ll of expanded cellular rubber attached to one side of the collar and adapted to be wrapped under the chin to make a tight seal around the neck. As shown, a hood It may be integrally attached to the neck band 80.

The usual types of life saving suits have integral foot members which are weighted; for example, it is customary to add three pounds of lead to the weight of the boots which ordinarily weigh four pounds per pair before the extra weight is added. The weighted boots are intended to assist in keeping the wearer of the suit in a semi-vertical position. For protection from exposure to cold (and from concussion due to underwater blasts, such as depth charges, bombs, mines, etc.), the supine position in the water offers far greater safety than the semi-vertical position. when the wearer is floating on his back in a. prone position, the suit provides increased warmth, particularly around the legs, since the material is loose and permits circulation of air. Furthermore, it is often necessary to quickly move away from an abandoned ship and the speed of propulsion in supine position is much greater than that in the semi-vertical position. Also, the supine position keeps the front closure safely out of be used.

water and tends to prevent leakage of water into the suit. For all of these reasons, I do not provide any weights in my foot coverings. I make my foot portions l8 of the same light weight material as the rest of the suit, shaped to readily fit over ordinary shoes. It may be preferred to wear the suit without inner shoes and in such case it is desirable to apply a sole 16 which may be of sponge rubber. The sole I8 is cemented to the bottom of the foot covering l8.

In certain cases it may be desirable to have replaceable boots instead of integral foot coverings and I have shown a modified construction in Fig. 8 in which the legs 18 of the trousers terminate at the ankles, a strap being provided to fit under the foot and serving to hold the trouser leg down. The trouser leg may have a vertical opening arranged to be closed by a slide fastener 82. In order to provide a watertight seal between the separate boot 84 and the trouser leg 18, I may provide at the lower end of the trouser leg a buoyant band 88 of expanded cellular material and a similar band 88 around the top of the boot on the inside thereof. It will be apparent that the boot will be pulled over the trouser leg to bring the band 88 above the band 88, thus when the boot is fastened, the bands 88 and 88 will be snugly engaged to prevent the entrance of water.

Instead of using the oversleeves such as used in Fig. 2, I may provide either attached or detachable glove members 90. as shown in Fig. 9 which are made similar to the boots 8| with a buoyant cellular-material band 82 around the inner portion of the glove at the wrist thereof. A slide fastener closure 94 may be provided to tighten the wrist of the glove around the inner sleeve of the suit. The inner sleeve of the suit may be provided with a cellular-material band similar to that shown at the end of the trouser leg. The slide fastener is of the locking type which may be closed to a point where the arm is snugly engaged and the slide may be then looked to hold it in position.

My suit is designed for the requirements of those in the armed forces. It is much lighter and less bulky than previous lifesaving suits and may be worn comfortably and conveniently as a general utility suit on deck and even for sleeping. on deck, the suit provides weather protection, and in addition, protection from waves sweeping over the decks in rough seasconditions under which the usual type of foul-weather clothing does not keep the feet and hands dry and warm. The suit may readily be opened for ventilation and yet be ready for instant use as an immersionsuit, in case the wearer is washed overboard or is forced to abandon ship.

The purpose of the buoyant inserts in the sleeves, leg-coverings, gusset-pocket, and neckband, is not only to restrain seepage wherever slide-fasteners or draw-strap closures are utilized; but also (either with or without these methods of closure) to provide a safety margin of built-.

in buoyancy, is forced out pressure, concussion, puncture, or other causes. If additional buoyancy is desired, preserver may be worn inside the suit, though the suit itself, by virtue of its unusual lightness (from 1% to 4% lbs. total weight) is self-buoyant.

Addenda This combination utility-and-safety garment accomplishes the following purposes, each of which is regarded as of prime importance from the standpoints of combat-operations, trooptransports, etc.:

1. Elimination of excess weight (long acknowledged by Navy ofllcials to be one of the most adverse factors associated with the weighted suits when originally used by gun-crews aboard mer- This is most important wherever ship-complements run high.

2. Elimination of excess bulk-lack of suflicient stowage space has been another reason consistently advanced by Navy equipment chiefs as a in the event that the entrapped air suits to combat and transport craft.

which could serve as a protective coverall on deck, and thus be a replacement for certain of the present foulweather garb; and at the same time a suit that would serve to keep the wearer protected in the water and aboard rafts of Carley-floats.

The provision of self-fabric foot-coverings permits wearing sea-boots with moccasin-type innersoles, outside the foot-coverings; and the suits can be rolled or folded compactly, occupying very little space compared with the heavy-booted, weighted suits.

3. Increased production output is another of the purposes achieved by omitting the usual attached boots or rubber-shoes, since the suits of my design being made of the same material throughout (including foot-coverings) obviates the difficulties encountered when cementing one kind of synthetic rubber or resin to a different type, and the ditliculty in obtaining deliveries of boots from the footwear manufacturers, during wartime.

4. "Unsinkable is an exceedingly important characteristic of my suit, since any suit (regardless of weight) may become flooded" if a bullet or Jagged splinter punctures it. Since every comof the suit due to prolonged water bat crewman is conditioned to expect the worst," he knows that a weighted suit might become a serious handicap, and would certainly become a tragic hazard if he had no life-preserver in addition to the suit, and if water replaced the airspaces within the suit.

5. Increased propulsion-speed and easy maneuverability in the water. (Also important for underwater-swim-suits in shallow-water salvage operations is my feature of soft, self-fabric footcoverings enabling the wearer to attain any position in the water.) (Used without buoyancy inserts, for diving purposes; and with attached diving helmet-mask, oxygen tank, etc.)

6. Protection from concussion due to underwater blasts. The entrapped air within the suit will give, reducing the blast pressure against the abdomen, which has been the cause of countless cases of internal ruptures, etc. The supine. surface-flotation position serves to minimize blast injury'from expoding depth-charges, and explosives dropped from planes, such as bombs and torpedoes.

I claim:

1. A buoyant immersion suit made of lightweight waterproof material and comprising a jacket portion, arm portions, leg portions and unweighted foot portions, all of said portions being of similar material secured together to form a watertight garment and a band of buoyant material secured to the leg portions adjacent the region where the leg portions join said foot portions.

2. A buoyant immersion suit made of lightweight waterproof material and comprising a Jacket portion, arm portions, leg portions and unweighted foot portions, all-of said portions being of similar material secured together to form a watertight garment, =glove members secured to the arm portions in a watertight manner and a band of buoyant material around the inner portion of the glove adjacent the wrist thereof.

3. A buoyant immersion suit made of lightweight waterproof material and comprising a jacket portion, arm portions, leg portions and unweighted foot portions, all of said portions being of similar material secured together to form a watertight garment, an entrance opening extending from the collar 01' said jacket portion to a point adjacent the crotch, means for closing said opening and said suit being provided with a substantially V-shaped insert of buoyant material behind said opening, said insert adding tothe buoyancy of the suit and tending to restrain the seepage of water through said opening when GIOSGCL 1 l I 4. A buoyant immersion suit made of lightweight waterproof material and comprising a jacket portion, arm portions, leg portions and unweighted foot portions, all of said portions being secured together to form a. watertight garment, an entrance opening extending from the neck to a point below the waistline, a slide-fastener closure for said opening, a V-shaped gusset attached to the inner side of the suit at a point below the entrance opening and along the sides to points near the shoulders to form a pocket open at the upper end, said gusset having an entrance opening extending from the top of the pocket at one side thereof to the bottom of the pocket, a. second slide-fastener closure for the entrance opening in said gusset, and a protective filler piece attached to said pocket to cover both of said slide-fastener closures.

HUBERT K. SHAW. 

